Method and system for providing diverse multiple carrier aggregation

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of systems and methods are presented to provide diverse multiple channel aggregation for wireless broadband edge devices with existing wireless technologies. A method and apparatus for supporting aggregation of multiple diverse RF carriers are disclosed. A wireless edge device capable of transmit and receiving on multiple diverse RF carriers using one or multiple wireless standards A wireless edge device may utilize carrier aggregation using the same radio access scheme with different frequency bands and possibly different rf bandwidths. Additionally a wireless edge device which can utilize different radio access schemes with different frequency bands. The radio access scheme and the frequency bands that the wireless edge device can use may be provided by one wireless network operator or by multiple wireless network operators.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/689,382, filed Jun. 5, 2012, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a wireless mobilecommunication system, and more particularly to methods and systems whichprovides diverse multiple carrier aggregation.

BACKGROUND

Wireless fixed and mobile communication systems keep evolving providingan ever increasing need for data bandwidth. To enable the delivery ofincreased data bandwidth the use of use of improved radio access andmodulation schemes are being utilized. However RF spectrum is a limitedresource and further improvements in modulation schemes will not solvethe need for higher data bandwidths. Therefore Wireless fixed and mobilecommunication systems in order to provide improved data bandwidth mayuse multiple carriers for the transmission and/or reception of data.

Wireless communication is a virtual necessity in today's society aspeople increasingly use cordless phones, cellular phones, wireless datacommunication devices, and the like on a daily basis. The ability tocommunicate wirelessly has become pervasive in homes, businesses, retailestablishments, and in the outdoors generally. Consequently, people cannow communicate while in transit and in almost any environment.

Wireless communication involves the use of a limited resource: theelectromagnetic spectrum. Different wireless communication schemesutilize different bands or segments of the electromagnetic spectrum indifferent manners. Typically, each particular segment of theelectromagnetic spectrum is utilized in accordance with a wirelessstandard that has been created by a government entity, an industryconsortium, and/or some other regulatory body.

There are many wireless standards under which wireless devices operatetoday. Example wireless standards include, but are not limited to,Bluetooth, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA)-2000, Wideband-CDMA (WCDMA), OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Long TermEvolution (LTE) and so forth.

A wireless communication device that operates in accordance with any oneof these standards or another standard can generally receive andtransmit electromagnetic signal waves that occupy a portion of thefrequency spectrum. Wireless communication devices are generallydesigned to operate within a particular frequency band so as to avoidinterfering with competing electromagnetic signal waves. Differentfrequency bands offer different advantages and disadvantages forwireless communication. For example, different frequency bands havedifferent propagation and interference characteristics. Moreover, thevarious wireless standards, which generally correspond to an assignedfrequency band or bands, provide for different propagation,interference-resistance, range, throughput, and other characteristics.Generally, no individual frequency band or wireless standard can beoptimum for all communications in all situations.

Presently the current method for delivering data to a wireless edgedevice 101 is shown in FIG. 1 where a radio access node 102 transmitsinformation downlink RF link 103 that uses a RF carrier 104 is able tocommunicate with the wireless edge device. Similarly the wireless edgedevice is able to communicate back to the radio access point 102 bymeans of an uplink RF link 105 using an uplink carrier 106. The uplinkand downlink scheme depicted in FIG. 1 could be for Frequency DivisionDuplex (FDD) or Time Division Duplex (TDD) wireless fixed and or mobilecommunication systems.

With a multi carrier wireless system for fixed and or mobilecommunication systems data bandwidth made available for the wirelessedge device to utilize can be increased. The amount of increasedbandwith made available to the wireless edge device 101 can be increasedby making many RF carriers 104, 106 available for the wireless edgedevice to utilize. For example when using the same radio access schemeand rf channel bandwidth increasing the amount of RF carriers from oneto two, in FIG. 2, has the potential of doubling the overall bandwidththat the wireless edge device can utilize. The amount of RF carriershowever does not need to be limited two or rely on the same radio accesstechnology or RF bandwidth.

Additionally increasing the amount of RF carriers from one to two or Nhas the potential of increasing the available bandwidth for the wirelessedge device by the amount of RF carriers. Therefore increasing theamount of RF carriers, FIG. 3, the wireless edge device can utilize willimprove its potential data bandwidth capabilities as long as it ismatched with the appropriate rf access points capability.

Further, the use of multiple carriers may be used in combination withmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO).

However the multi-carrier techniques that are used and proposed rely onsimilar radio access schemes and use of RF carriers which are within thesame pass band of the transmitter of the wireless edge device.

Present radio techniques for a wireless edge device utilize discretetransmitters and receivers or a transceiver 401 for each radio accessscheme and frequency band as depicted in FIG. 4. The receiver for thewireless edge device are wideband in nature facilitating mobile desense.The discrete transceiver 401 are connected to the wireless edge devicesantenna 404 with the aid of a antenna selector system 403 which limitsthe selection of the frequency band and radio system utilized. The useof the antenna selector switch 403 also limits the potential for channelaggregation through diverse carriers operating in other frequency bandsthan the band selected with the antenna selector switch 403.

The use of discrete tranceivers 401 are being replaced with the use ofSoftware defined radios 501 in FIG. 5 are seeing more use in wirelessedge devices employing a tunable RF front end and potentially RFtransmitters as well. The SDR approach while great has severallimitations regarding RF channel aggregation. For instance the tunablefilter 503, 506 or duplexer 504 as shown in FIG. 5 limits the ability ofthe mobile radio to use channel aggregation involving multiple radiobands. The configuration in FIG. 5 can be used for RF channelaggregation however the channels need to be close in RF proximity toeach other, preferably adjacent and or alternate RF channels.

It is desired to have a wireless edge device that is capable of channelaggregation using multiple frequency bands and multiple radio accesstechniques at the same time. Additionally it is desirable to have awireless access device utilize a multicarrier approach using differentradio access points which can use different radio access techniques ordifferent frequency bands at the same time. It is also desired to have awireless access device be capable of multicarrier operation betweenmultiple radio access points which may be operated by different wirelessnetwork operators.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus for a wireless edge device supporting aggregationof multiple component carriers are disclosed. A wireless edge device mayutilize carrier aggregation using the same radio access scheme withdifferent frequency bands and possibly different RF bandwidths.Additionally a wireless edge device can utilize different radio accessschemes with different frequency bands. The radio access scheme and thefrequency bands that they use may be provided by one wireless networkoperator or by multiple wireless network operators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Together with the general description given above and thedetailed description given below, the drawings serve to explain featuresof the invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates No Carrier Aggregation

FIG. 2 illustrates Carrier Aggregation

FIG. 3 illustrates Single RAN Multiple Carrier

FIG. 4 is illustrates an Antenna Selection Method

FIG. 5 illustrates a Typical Software Defined Radion (SDR)

FIG. 6 illustrates a Wireless Edge Device Diverse Carrier TxConfiguration

FIG. 7 illustrates a Tx configuration with MIMO Antennas

FIG. 8 illustrates a Multiple Output Tx Configuration

FIG. 9 illustrates a Quad or Multiband Coupler

FIG. 10 illustrates a Multiple N Plexer Configuration

FIG. 11 illustrates Multiple SDR Modules

FIG. 12 illustrates SDR Modules with Rx Path selection

FIG. 13 illustrates SDR Modules with Rx Path selection

FIG. 14 illustrates a Transceiver Rx Path Selection scheme

FIG. 15 illustrates a Transceiver Rx Path Selection scheme usingmultiple antennas

FIG. 16 illustrates a Transceiver Rx Path Selection using multipleantennas and discrete Rx filters that can be static or tunable

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate a Tunable Duplexer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.References made to particular examples and implementations are forillustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention or the claims.

As used herein, the terms “cellular telephone,” “cell phone” and “mobiledevice” are used interchangeably and refer to any one of variouscellular telephones, wireless modems, personal data assistants (PDA's),palm-top computers, laptop computers with wireless modems, tabletcomputers with wireless modems, wireless electronic mail receivers(e.g., the Blackberry® and Treo® devices), multimedia Internet enabledcellular telephones (e.g., the iPhone® and Android®), and similarpersonal electronic devices. A mobile device may include a programmableprocessor and memory as described in more detail below with reference toFIG. 3. In a preferred embodiment, the mobile device is a cellularhandheld device (e.g., a cellphone), which can communicate via acellular telephone network.

As used herein, the terms “Wireless Network”, “Network”, “CellularSystem”, “Cell Tower” and “Radio Access Point” are used interchangeablyand refer to any one of various wireless mobile systems. In a preferredembodiment, the Wireless Network is a Radio Access Point or (e.g., acell tower), which provides the radio link to the mobile device so itcan communicate with the core network.

The invention being proposed is different and is meant to supportchannel aggregation as well as addressing the RF receiver desence thatis starting to occur in the wireless industry as more RF bands are beingused for wireless mobile communication.

The invention addresses the current technology implementationlimitations where a mobile device that is capable of utilizing severaldifferent can not aggregate channels across different frequency bands oraggregate different Mobile RAN technologies.

Channel aggregation is described for wireless communication in whichexemplary embodiments provide that two or more communication channelscan be channel-aggregated as communication channels, including for asingle service. As described herein, channel aggregation may includetransmitting and receiving data at a wireless communication device ondifferent communication channels in which data from a single service maybe assigned for communication on any one of two or more aggregatedcommunication channels as determined by a channel aggregation system.The channel-aggregated communication channels are each individuallyproperly formed communication channels. The channel-aggregatedcommunication channels can be adjacent channels in the same frequencyband or non-adjacent channels in the same or different frequency bands.

Although features and concepts of the described systems, methods,devices, media, etc. for channel aggregation can be implemented in anynumber of different environments, communications systems,processing-based systems, structures, and/or other configurations,exemplary embodiments of channel aggregation are described in thecontext of the following example systems and environments.

FIG. 6 depicts a diverse multiple carrier aggregation schemes that usescross band couplers 605 and 606 for use in bringing together multiple RFtechnologies and frequency bands of operation. RAN 1 601 could be LTEoperating in the 700 MHz upper or lower frequency bands. RAN 1 601however could also be UMTS or EVDO or any other RAN technology. RAN2 601can be LTE, UMTS, EVDO or any RAN technology operating in the AWSfrequency band. These RAN transmit channels are combined by use of across band coupler 605 and 606 which has very low insertion loss.

Switches 607 are included after the cross band coupler to account forthe possibility that there may be 3 or 4 or more RF channels aggregated.The switch 607 also if not involving 3 or 4 or more channels beingaggregated in different frequency bands will bypass the hybrid combiner608 reducing insertion loss.

Switches 603 after the filter 602 in FIG. 6 is meant to include the RFsignal from the respective RAN. When the switch 603 is in an openposition its impedance will look like and open circuit.

It is also possible to not utilize switches 603 if desired.

The tuner 609 in FIG. 6 is meant to address impedance differences thatoccur when combining different frequency bands onto an antenna 404 andcan have a SWR sensor to help fine tune the impedance difference tomaximize the transmit power.

The control logic 604 is included in FIG. 6 which controls switches 603and 607 besides the tuner 609.

In another embodiment FIG. 7 shows another configuration for diversemultiple carrier aggregation where the use of two antennas 404 fortransmitting is used instead of one. Through this configuration shown inFIG. 7 the need of a hybrid combiner 608 shown in FIG. 6 is not neededthereby improving the combining losses. The use of switches 603 may ormay not be utilized depending on impedance and isolation requirements.

FIG. 8 is yet another configuration possible where each individualtransceiver 601 is connected to its own antenna 404. This configurationaffords the least insertion loss possible and allows for good RFisolation for each transmitter.

FIG. 9 is another variant of the channel aggregation method where a quadband or a N-Plexer (N-band coupler) 901 is used to bring multiple RFbands together onto one antenna 404.

Both FIG. 6 and FIG. 9 schemes can apply for each of the transmitantennas that the wireless edge device many have.

FIG. 10 is depicts the possible configuration where several quad band ora N-Plexer (N-band coupler) 901 is used to bring multiple RF bandstogether onto one antenna 404. This configuration may be required forexample when using 700 MHz Upper and Lower bands for diverse multiplecarrier aggregation. The switch 1001 in FIG. 10 is meant to select whichTx path the RF signal will take. With Tx diversity the switch willenable both paths to each of the antennas 404 to be utilized.

FIG. 11 shows the use of two distinct Software Defined Modules 501, SDRTransceivers to facilitate diverse multiple carrier aggregation. The SDRmodules 501 rely in separate and diverse paths to the antenna 404 fortransmission. Although only one receive path is shown in FIG. 11 foreach SDR module 501 the use of a second antenna 404 or potentially moreantennas for receiving is possible.

FIG. 12 depicts several SDR modules 501 used for diverse multiplecarrier aggregation. FIG. 12 shows the use of two distinct Tx paths, onefor each SDR module 501. However the receive path to the SDR module 501is shown coming from one or two different antennas 404. The use of aswitch 600 is shown which enables the selection of the antenna 404 tothe appropriate SDR module enabling multiple receive paths for the SDRto utilize. The filter 504 is shown between the antenna 404 and switch600, however the filter 504 can be placed after switch 600 depending onthe frequency bands that the wireless edge device 101 is designed touse. Switch 600 can also serve as a cross band coupler as well as havingswitching capabilities.

FIG. 13 is similar to that of FIG. 12 except in this configuration twodistinct RF receive paths are defined and shown in FIG. 13. In FIG. 13separate Rx filters 506 are shown for each receive path drawn

With the proliferation of RF frequency bands a wireless broadband edgedevice 101 can utilize the RF receiver becomes more susceptible tounwanted energy degrading the receiver performance and possiblydesensing the receiver itself.

FIG. 14 shows a scheme that will reduce the out of band energy that theradio receiver experiences by removing unwanted energy though use ofband specific filters for each of the receivers in the wirelessbroadband edge device 101.

The use of a tuner or rather duplexer 1304 that is connected to anantenna 404 which allows for the RF energy to pass to the respectivereceiver portion of the transceiver 1301. The use or the selector switch1310 is meant to isolate the other RF filters 1302 interaction resultingin an increased noise floor due to common signals.

FIG. 15 shows a scheme that will reduce the out of band energy that theradio receiver experiences by removing unwanted energy though use ofband specific filters for each of the receivers in the wirelessbroadband edge device 101. FIG. 15 is different from FIG. 14 in that itutilizes several antennas 404.

FIG. 16 is another variant of the scheme shown in FIG. 15 where eachindividual RF receive path has its own set of filters 1302 which can beadded and removed from the system. The Rx selector switch 1320 is usedto select which antenna 404 is utilized by the transceiver receiver1301. The filter 1301 is capable of being static or tunable therebyenhancing the capability of the wireless broadband edge device for RFselectivity and overall performance across multiple and diversefrequency bands.

FIG. 17A shows the common tuner 609 shown in many of the diagrams in theproposed invention. The tuner 609 is used to optimally match the antenna404 with the Transmitter or receiver for the diverse multiple carriersthat the wireless broadband edge device may utilize. However FIG. 17B isa further refinement in that a duplexer that has impedance tuningcapability 2000. The purpose of the duplexer is to utilize a particularantenna 404 for both transmission and reception of the RF energyminimizing the amount of antennas required for a wireless broadband edgedevice.

Additionally the use of a duplexer 2000 that is tunable enables moreconfiguration options and opportunities for diverse multiple carrieraggregation applications.

In FIGS. 6,7,8,9,10,14,15 and 16 the use of a tunable duplexer 2000 canbe used instead of or with the tuner 609.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless broadband edge device 101 will typicallyinclude a processor coupled to a random access memory and a wirelesstransceiver coupled to an antenna for sending and receiving voice anddata calls via a wireless broadband network. Typical wireless broadbandedge devices may also include a rechargeable battery which providespower to the processor and transceiver, allowing the unit to beportable. The wireless broadband edge device may also include componentstypically employed in commercial cell phones, including a display, akeyboard, a pointing device and a parallel or serial bus connector, allcoupled to the processor. The wireless broadband edge devices may alsoinclude a mass storage device coupled to the processor and random accessmemory, which may contain large amounts of data. The mass storage deviceor random access memory may contain the provisioning/programminginformation for mobile device operation.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an example of exemplary approaches. Based upondesign preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remainingwithin the scope of the present disclosure. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and arenot meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The hardware used to implement the forgoing embodiments may beprocessing elements and memory elements configured to execute a set ofinstructions, wherein the set of instructions are for performing methodsteps corresponding to the above methods. Alternatively, some steps ormethods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a givenfunction.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware,firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Those of ordinary skill inthe art may implement the described functionality in varying ways foreach particular application, but such implementation decisions shouldnot be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentinvention.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.The software module may reside in a processor readable storage mediumand/or processor readable memory both of which may be any of RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other tangible form of datastorage medium known in the art. Moreover, the processor readable memorymay comprise more than one memory chip, memory internal to the processorchip, in separate memory chips, and combinations of different types ofmemory such as flash memory and RAM memory. References herein to thememory of a mobile device are intended to encompass any one or allmemory modules within the mobile device without limitation to aparticular configuration, type, or packaging. An exemplary storagemedium is coupled to a processor in the mobile device such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC.

The foregoing description of the various embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, and instead theclaims should be accorded the widest scope consistent with theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A wireless device comprising: an antenna; aplurality of transmitters, at least two of which operate in differentfrequency bands; and a hybrid combiner configured to combine signalsfrom transmitters operating in different frequency bands and provide thecombined signal to the antenna.
 17. The wireless device of claim 16further comprising: a tuner configured to attempt to match the combinedsignal from the hybrid combiner to the antenna.
 18. The wireless deviceof claim 16 further comprising: a tunable duplexer configured to attemptto match the combined signal from the hybrid combiner to the antenna.19. The wireless device of claim 16, wherein the wireless devicecomprises a first plurality of transmitters of a first frequency band,and wherein the wireless device further comprises a first cross bandcoupler configured to combine signals from the first plurality oftransmitters of the first frequency band and provide that combinedsignal to the hybrid combiner.
 20. The wireless device of claim 19,wherein the wireless device comprises a second plurality of transmittersof a second frequency band, and wherein the wireless device furthercomprises a second cross band coupler configured to combine signals fromthe second plurality of transmitters of the second frequency band andprovide that combined signal to the hybrid combiner.
 21. The wirelessdevice of claim 16, wherein the at least two of the plurality oftransmitters that operate in different frequency bands use differentradio access techniques.
 22. The wireless device of claim 21, whereinthe different radio access techniques include one or more of thefollowing: LTE, UMTS, and EVDO.
 23. The wireless device of claim 16,wherein the at least two of the plurality of transmitters comprises atleast three transmitters.
 24. The wireless device of claim 16 furthercomprising at least one switch configured to bypass the hybrid combiner.25. The wireless device of claim 16 further comprising a receiversubsystem comprising: a second antenna; a plurality of receivers, atleast two of which operate in different frequency bands; a plurality ofband pass filters, wherein each band pass filter is paired with areceiver operating in a corresponding frequency band; and a plurality ofswitches configured to switch a signal received by the second antenna tothe appropriate band pass filter and receiver.
 26. The wireless deviceof claim 25 further comprising a tuner in communication with the secondantenna.
 27. The wireless device of claim 25 further comprising atunable duplexer in communication with the second antenna.
 28. Awireless device comprising: an antenna; a plurality of transmitters,each operating in a different frequency band; and a multi-band couplerconfigured to combine signals from the plurality of transmitters andprovide the combined signal to the antenna.
 29. The wireless device ofclaim 28 further comprising: a tuner configured to attempt to match thecombined signal from the multi-band coupler to the antenna.
 30. Thewireless device of claim 28 further comprising: a tunable duplexerconfigured to attempt to match the combined signal from the multi-bandcoupler to the antenna.
 31. The wireless device of claim 28, wherein theat least two of the plurality of transmitters that operate in differentfrequency bands use different radio access techniques.
 32. The wirelessdevice of claim 31, wherein the different radio access techniquesinclude one or more of the following: LTE, UMTS, and EVDO.
 33. Thewireless device of claim 28, wherein the at least two of the pluralityof transmitters comprises at least three transmitters.
 34. The wirelessdevice of claim 28 further comprising a receiver subsystem comprising: asecond antenna; a plurality of receivers, at least two of which operatein different frequency bands; a plurality of band pass filters, whereineach band pass filter is paired with a receiver operating in acorresponding frequency band; and a plurality of switches configured toswitch a signal received by the second antenna to the appropriate bandpass filter and receiver.
 35. The wireless device of claim 34 furthercomprising a tuner in communication with the second antenna.
 36. Thewireless device of claim 34 further comprising a tunable duplexer incommunication with the second antenna.
 37. A method for multiple carrieraggregation in a wireless device, the method comprising: performing thefollowing in a wireless device: generating carrier signals at differentfrequency bands; combining the carrier signals into a combined carriersignal; and providing the combined carrier signal to an antenna fortransmission.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the carrier signalsare combined using a hybrid combiner.
 39. The method of claim 37,wherein the carrier signals are combined using a multi-band coupler. 40.The method of claim 37 further comprising attempting to match thecombined carrier signal to the antenna.
 41. The method of claim 37,wherein the carrier signals use different radio access techniques. 42.The method of claim 41, wherein the different radio access techniquesinclude one or more of the following: LTE, UMTS, and EVDO.